Dark Choices
by D-D Dreamer
Summary: The Kamiya dojo harbors a dark secret that will threaten everyone and everything Kaoru holds dear to her. She must learn to cope with everything as a bloody past catches up to her with the stir of the Kyoto's events. Kaoru must choose her family ties or her love interest.
1. Preface

**A/N: I have a backup of this story posted in Wattpad since I'm unsure about the guidelines. This story is rated Mature.**

 **I changed this story's name from Kyoto Arc to Dark Choices because I feel like this title describes the theme that will later play out for Kaoru.**

 **Okay, there are a lot of different versions for Kaoru's past, and before you hit the back button, let me explain why and how this story is different. Well, for one, I decided to tie in the characters' relationships, make it as faith brought them together. Two, after watching Jineh and Kenshin demonstrate what they can do with their ki, I decided to explore more with the different possibilities of ki such as it being able to manifest ki to physical form. This will be better explained in Chapter 2. And three, I feel that Kaoru's role in RK isn't displayed to it's full potential. The RK story begins with her telling how Kenshin becomes a permanent member of the Kamiya dojo but I feel she eventually becomes overshadowed by all the other characters in some sort of aspect, whether it's her fighting ability, cooking, or her naivety. I want to create a story where she develops as a character. In other words, I want her to have a story. So, here it is. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I have fun writing it.**

 **Also, this Preface is a part I added later due to a wonderful reviewer _Dreamspirit47._ Thank you for your advice! I will like to give you, other readers and myself something to look forward to. So here is the Preface.**

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 ** _Dark Choices_**

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 _ **Disclaimer : I don't own Rurouni Kenshin.**_

 ** _Warning : Characters are out of character. This story is dark and has some AU. Will contain violence, adult language and adult content._**

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Everything came down to this moment.

I stared at the swordsman whose hair rivaled the burning flames behind him. His sword was unsheathed and remained limp at his side.

"Who are you?" he asked me calmly. His sharp violet eyes that could turn golden in a second assessed me.

"You should know me," I answered back just as placidly, but I wasn't sure if he could hear me through the black binding that I wrapped loosely around my face to conceal my identity from him.

He stepped toward me, his sandaled feet barely making a sound compared to the burning fire on the wooden vessel.

The wind picked up and my fingers tightened on the metal fans at my sides in warning.

He halted and tilted his head. "I do feel like I know you."

Instantly, my body went rigid. I took note that he said "I" instead of "unworthy." The darker side of him was unleashed.

As if to confirm my observation, he raised his head at an angle that the fires around him reflected eerily back in his golden eyes. I couldn't stop the gasp that left me from his overwhelming stare.

"Stop playing with me and reveal who you are." His words sliced through the air like the sharp edge of a blade.

I wanted to prolong this moment, my final reunion with Kenshin while Master Shishio completed his dark plans. But another part me wanted to finally surrender to him. Didn't he suffer enough?

 _"You have to do this, Kaoru. You have to do this for us, for me and Tsubame. For family."_ Yumi's words, rang in my mind.

With determination, I began to undo the wrap from my face. In the process, my long raven hair cascaded down my shoulders like a waterfall.

I heard his intake of breath. His golden eyes widened on my form. "Like I said, Battousai. You know me. I'm Kaoru Kamiya and I'm your opponent."


	2. Chapter 1

The Kamiya Kasshin Ryu was a type of sword style that protects life. Instead of being used as an art of killing, the style was an art of disabling an opponent, sometimes rendering him/her useless for life. As a samurai, the swordsman style went against the code of living and dying by the sword. For this main reason, the Kamiya Kasshin Ryu was seen as pointless besides defying the samurai's role. The style was convinced to be a mockery of samurais and therefore was cast aside in Kyoto. Around this time, the Bakumatsu was rearing its ugly head in the streets. People were dying and the Kamiya family moved their businesses and assets to another place that would take them in; another place where no one heard of the Kamiya name.

And for a year with establishing businesses in the Edo district, things were peaceful. Or at least things appeared peaceful in Edo streets. Within the Kamiya dojo walls was a different matter. The Kamiya family carried a dark secret that shook the foundations of normalcy. Every generation of the Kamiya line was granted with an extraordinary talent to control the elements of nature. Usually, the heir of each generation was a boy who carried such a unique gift and whom was capable of passing the Kamiya name to the next family line. However, Koshijiro Kamiya was angered that he had three daughters. The family name would end the moment they married and women were seen as weaklings compared to men in fighting skills.

Unfortunately, one of the daughters in the family had to make the ultimate sacrifice; not to fall in love, not to wed, and not to have a family. Out of the three daughters, this was where my role became significant. Being the middle daughter of three girls, I, Kaoru Kamiya, was picked to have no life. With this in mind, my life became a permanent hell. There was a reason I never fancied kimonos, ogled over guys, never set foot in the kitchen to cook food and never associated myself with other girls my age. I was too busy busting my ass with training the moment the sun rose to when the sun set. The only freedom I received was taking care of my little sister, Tsubame Kamiya. It was the only womanly or motherly experience I had that could be considered feminine. My father thought such trivialities should be left in my older sister's care, Yumi Kamiya. She was taught to take care of the household, how to dress, how to act like a lady and was given an education with knowing the arts of keeping men entertained. She was the first one to be of marriageable age and with her beauty, many suitors lined up in front of our dojo to gift her with compliments or items.

However, my father was stern with how we associated with men. Although he ran a dojo as a side business to earn money, he kept the females away from prying eyes. After all, our mystical abilities was something anyone would kill to possess. If anyone from the public discovered the dangerous secret we harbored, ninja clans, warlords or the government officials would be slamming down our doors. The thought of someone using me, simply for my powers was terrifying. My father was already my worst nightmare in the making. At the age of four, I was already wielding an actual sword. My father either made me practiced two hundred strokes a day or he would beat me to a bloody pulp. At the age of five, we changed places. Edo became our home and my father purchased a dojo with the true intent to continue our rigorous training. However, he had to establish a swordsman style for the dojo he purchased because our neighbors found it was suspicious of him to buy a dojo without using it as a school. My father quickly redefined the Kamiya Kasshin Ryu, declaring it was a swordsmanship to save lives. Groups of young men signed up to learn such a style so they could be drafted into a revolution, hoping to make a difference. The name Hitokiri Battousai was erupting from people's mouths. His name brought fear and admiration to men who wanted to be like him. But for me, Hitokiri Battousai wasn't just name to be revered. I wanted to be strong like him, to tear down my foes with a clean swipe of my sword and not have their faces mocking me in my dreams.

Sometimes I wondered if my father was relentless with my training because he wanted to send me away in war. Or he despised me for being a female. At the age of seven, he and I traveled to Kyoto on foot. The Bakumatsu was nearly ending, the bloodshed was dispersing on the roads. My father left me alone in one of the Kyoto districts to find my way home. It was the hardest training I had to endure in my life. The fact I didn't carried a sword and I was a child saved my life countless times, but those bloody days would forever scar my heart. In that time, I met a young boy with soul full blue eyes, black matted hair and a sweet smile plastered on his lips. He was abused and malnourished. His family took sick pleasure in making him do degrading things for food, to only snatch it and throw it at the dogs. He had to fight for the remains and whatever he got, he shared half of it with me. His family never discovered about me. He kept me hidden from prying eyes under the floorboards of his rundown room.

He didn't tell me his name nor did I bother to tell him mine. All he knew was I had to return home and he was all too happy to depart from his. After all, he was unwanted and unloved. The boy with the shining blue eyes, midnight hair, dressed in haggard, torn clothing, sporting bruises and welts still followed me in the unknown streets of Kyoto. It was only one incident that changed my life forever. The one night that someone outside my family discovered my gift. I didn't know I possessed it until it was too late to stop my actions. There was a gory sight of men dropping to the floor. Blood was raining from the sky while fire licked endlessly at their corpses. One man shrouded in darkness, brutally attacked the men. His lips twisting into a smirk while red stained his sword. I remembered I grabbed the boy's hand at my side and I pushed us against the wall. I put a finger to his lips as a warning to remain silent. I peeked around the edge of the wall to see if more men were dying when I noticed the boy's body stiffening from next to me. A harsh gasp left his mouth and I turned to feel a something sharp and cold pressed against my neck. The male silhouette towered over the both us and I intertwined my fingers in the boy's, praying that this moment wouldn't be our last. Suddenly, a building exploded from behind him. The fires ate at his skin, a grunt left his tall frame as he fell on top of us. His heavy weight crushed the little air I had left and I squeezed the hand tighter that was loosening from my hold. I had to save the boy's life. If anyone deserved to live, it was him. But I was only a seven year old girl who could thrust a sword up and down and dodge fists coming in my direction. I had no other skill to save his life. As the flames surrounded us and breathing became harsher, I heard his heavy breaths turning shallow. His hand was going limp and some strange feeling responded to my sheer desperation to save him. Lava ran through my bloodstream and with a burst of abnormal strength for a child, I pushed the big figure from on top of us to the side. The fire already burned his skin, I could see his muscles and tissue oozing. The boy's skin was getting scorched and I felt some unknown gust of wind gathered around me. 'I want the flames to disappear,' I thought. 'I want to be strong to protect him.' The wind blew around my form, pushing at my hair, and curving around my fingers. I moved my fingers and the wind caressed each finger tip. Experimentally, I waved my hand in the air and the wind responded by blowing against the fire, strong enough to divert it from harming the boy. That's when I looked down at my hands like they were foreign. The blowing air responded and died with a whim. I knelt next to the boy, shaking him, watching him with tearful eyes. I was looking at his mouth, to see if his lips would twitch into an innocent smile. Then I averted my gaze to his eyes to see if he would open them for me.

Instead, I heard a shuffle, a wheezing of air, and I fell against the wall in sudden fear that the shadowed man was going to kill us. Instead, he warily raised himself on his feet, gathered the limp boy's form into his arms. I heard quick intake of breaths as he stumbled on his feet. Glancing my direction, his rough voice called to me. "Are you going to stand there all night, girl?" Somehow his voice remained in perfect condition despite his body being physically damage to a point I could see his insides. But he was standing wearily on his feet, moving away from the fire. Somehow I knew he was like me; he had a gift of his own that made him appear inhuman. If he could survive a fire ravaging at his skin and roam around with injuries, what else could he do?

And from that night, I wandered and rested at his side. I learned the burnt man's name was Shishio Makoto. And I wondered if he was like the Battousai I heard of; an assassin. Battousai might be similar to us; he had to possess an extraordinary gift to carve a pathway to a peaceful era.

Somehow I shook my head at the possibility. Yet at the same time of melting away from the bloody events of the unfortunate Kyoto district, I could have sworn I saw glowing golden eyes looking at us with blooding flowing around him. The lean silhouette was following from the shadows to disappear when a whistle blew in the distance, alerting strangers of our existence. Long fingers curled around my wrist and with a surge of force, crushed my wrist bone and dragged me after him. The boy was thrown over his shoulder, almost sagging at the bumping of feet across the harsh ground.

Another whistle blew and the flowing blood vanished completely from sight. "Damn it!" the burnt man growled. "The Shinsengumi are here." With a sudden tug of my hand, I fell into his body. "If it was just me, I would have escaped but I have the two of you." Deftly, he raised a hand to my throat and squeezed hard enough until was I panting for air. My body sagged against his and he lifted me with ease, only grunting before I joined the boy.

But it wasn't the end of our journey. We made local stops to places he knew. They held healing supplies, a place to lay our heads and edible food. The boy, who I became protective of, awakened to be startled by the burnt man's appearance. He held some bandages to me and commanded that I wrap them around his body. Hesitating in fear and uncertainty of how to use bandages since my mother was the one to wrap them around my wounds, the boy took them and showed me how to do it. In return, I gave him a half portion of my food because of what his family did to him.

From our short conversations, I learned the boy's name was Soujiro Seta. He was usually a quiet one who did as he was told all while smiling. He was incredibly helpful and patient with teaching me do simple chores such as how to make a bed, boil rice, wrap a wound in bandages and to walk quietly on the balls of my feet instead of putting all my weight on my heels. To thank him for teaching me simple things, I taught him how to read and to write from the books we picked up on our journey from Kyoto to Edo. Being literate was something my mother demanded from my father that I learn because the males from my family were considered to be intelligent as well as expert with their gifts. It was their intelligence and resolve that kept our family alive for so long.

Which was how Shsishio discovered more about me from the stirrings of a conversation.

"So how did a little girl like you end up wandering in Kyoto streets on a bloody night?" the burnt man asked me. The boy traveling at his side glanced at me with curiosity sparkling in his blue eyes.

"My father left me," I simply said with a shrug of my shoulders.

"That's hard to believe. Why would your father leave a defenseless child in a dangerous place?" The man shook his head as if my parents were insane. I would agree with him about my father having a loose screw but not my mother. She was against the idea of me traveling to Kyoto with the sole purpose to train. My father digested her words like a grain of salt and now they were waiting for me return home.

"He said it was training," I answered.

There was a strange flash in the dark man's eyes as his bloodless lips twisted into a half of smile. "Was your training to blow away the fire that almost devoured us?"

I glanced up at him strangely, recalling the way the air seemed to bent to my will. I tilted my head as if in thought and then I shook my head. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Don't play coy with me, little girl," he roared with laughter. "Your parents train you well with keeping secrets."

I shook my head again. "I don't know what you mean."

"Let's not worry about that." Craning his neck to see the boy lagging behind, the smile spread across his face. "There's no reason to dull the mood. You have an infinite gift to be light on your feet. With a sword and your swiftness, you may someday have enough skill to surpass Battousai."

"You know Battousai?" I suddenly asked him, stilling in shock.

"Know him. I was his predecessor for the Ishin Shishi."

My mouth dropped open and my eyes widened at the man in front of me. Dressed in a dark gray gi and a black hakama, with bandages wrapped around his lithe body, he would appear as a bystander for the war. Instead he was a member of the Ishin Shishi (fighting for a new way of life) and they were fighting against the Shinsengumi, who believed Japan should remain the same.

"Looks like the cat caught its tongue."

A weird expression must have marred my face because his chest rumbled with laughter. Soujiro looked at the both of us with a perplexed face before he shrugged his shoulders and began walking. I followed after him.

"Then it's settled. We will go to your home in Edo." I stopped and whirled around him.

"I don't think my dad will like that."

"What? Bringing strangers into your home? He will welcome us when he sees you're alive and well."

I didn't know what to say him so I kept silent as we continued our travel to Edo.

From the many weary days of travelling on foot, I never thought the sight of a bridge with water flowing calmly under it would be the first sight to greet me home. Then, a sudden apprehension build within me at the thought of having uninvited guests staying at the dojo. The tall man wrapped in bandages knew more about me then I knew of him. It could be our age difference or the keen way his eyes observed everything while keeping silent that made him unpredictable. Whenever he opened those bloodless lips, sensible words appeared and it seemed like Soujiro and I had no choice to but to listen and obey him. His power over us was frightening.

So imagine the fear that permitted the area of the dojo when my father opened the dojo doors, an unsheathed sword in one hand and his fingers splaying around the hilt of a smaller sword at his hip. The sight of the burnt man must have shocked him senseless because it was my mother's hastiness that had the boy and the man inside the safety net of the dojo halls with bandages, hot food and water. She took care of me while my older sister carefully tended to the bandaged man. Soujiro was the only one who remained untouched. To console him, I held his hand and smiled at him. 'You won't be alone,' I mentally promised. As if he heard my declaration, the wistful smile lightened his facial features and he squeezed my fingers.

'I have to become stronger,' I thought as my goal.

Thus, when my dad demanded the intruders were to leave at the first light of the sun, the burnt man picked up one of the many swords that were stored on the shelves in the dojo.

"We will leave if you can defeat me," Shishio stated with a calm voice. His face revealed no emotion as he glided into the middle of the room.

"No!" my older sister screamed. Turning to face the bandaged man, she gazed at him with dark defiant eyes. "You can't fight in your current condition."

"Why not?" Shishio replied with a stoic expression. Only black eyes glinted with heat as he stared challengingly at my sister, seeing if she would back down.

She stayed still. Her hands moving on her hips. My mouth dropped opened while Soujiro sat up straighter in his seat, his interest peaked.

"If you are capable of fighting, then my father has every right to toss you and that little brat on the streets," Yumi's voice threatened. "But if you are incapable of fighting, then you can stay here until you are fully healed."

The burnt man shook his head and then tilted his head back as his laughter roared through the dojo's walls. Completely taken aback by his sudden amusement, Yumi shifted away from him. "Your little sister wanders the bloody streets of Kyoto when men, women and children are being murdered. She returns home with someone who saves her life and this is how you treat me. What happened to hospitality?" He turned to face the lord of the Kamiya Kasshin Ryu. "Or does your daughter have little value to you?"

My dad never expected someone talk back at him. He struggled with words before he retorted, "Who the hell do you think you are to make accusations in my home? If I command you to get out, then move out."

"If I go, both children will go with me," Shishio declared with a hint of mockery. "Or are you scared that an injured man will win you and you have no choice but to entertain us as guests until I deem it fit to leave?"

"If I win, you and that insufferable bastard will leave permanently," my dad accused. I stilled because I didn't see it happen. My older sister fell to the ground because she had never seen the burnt man move. One second he was standing in the middle of the dojo with a sword still in its sheathe. The next second, the unsheathe sword, glimmering silver in the candle light was poised at my father's neck.

I was up on my feet, dashing between both males. My hands outstretched from side to side as if I could shield my father with my little body. I raised my head and stared at the monster before me. Although my arms were shaking and my knees were wobbly, I never looked away from the dark eyes of a predator. In that instant, I believed in his words when he said he was associated with Battousai. This man was as terrifying as the legendary assassin in the beautiful way he held the naked blade at my father's throat. Killer intent marked in his stance. I wanted to be like him but the person who could teach me to be strong was the person he deemed as a threat.

"No! Please don't kill him!" I found myself begging.

I stood there what seemed like forever. The burnt man eyes shifted from me to my dad until he slowly lowered his sword. I collapsed to my knees. Yumi ran to hug me. "Your daughter saved you. Surely you must see what makes her special." It was the way in which he said the word special that caused my older sister and I to shiver in fear. He appeared to know the truth my father tried so long to conceal. "The duel is over and I win. We will be staying here for as long as we like."

My father didn't take the command well but he had to live by the burnt man's words. He sensed the same thing I sensed when I first met the burnt man. Anyone to cross his blade would end up dead. So we had no choice but to accommodate the burnt swordsman in our home. He had his private bedroom, meals were prepared to his liking, and my sister became his personal maid. My parents were upset as to how much time he spent with Yumi. He deliberately forced her to change his bandages every two hours, to feed him, to set out his clothing and dress him. Yumi stayed up late hours of the night telling him stories or singing to him only to get up early in the morning to do everything again.

My father realized that he couldn't save her the humiliation of being a personal slave. Instead, he took out his frustrations on my training. He never showed me moves. He expected me to learn them from memories when he tackled me or swept me off from my feet to land on rear or on my back on the dirty wooden floor. Sometimes his frustration reached a point where he left me alone to do a thousand strokes.

And then one year later, with the mighty end of the Bakumastu, the day came when the bandaged man decided to abscond from the dojo, only he wasn't leaving empty handed. The boy I had come to view as my best friend chose to go with him. Shockingly, my older sister was in turmoil about his sudden wanted departure. Our mother had fallen ill and Tsubame was learning the meaning of being lonely. I didn't know when Yumi had a change of heart toward the bandaged swordsman but her confessed love truly astonished us to the point that she was at the main dojo gates with him, a bag swung over her shoulder and dressed in her feathery yellow kimono fit for traveling long distances.

I recalled the tears staining my cheeks as I held little Tsubame in my arms. My little sister's chubby legs wrapped around my hips while her small arms wrapped around my neck. The moisture against the crook of my neck were tell tale signs of tears for our sister's departure. Yumi looked at dad with a face of indifference before turning to us. Her lovely face softened at our display of sadness and she walked right up to us with the burnt man, and my best friend followed after her.

Her beauty glowed delicately like the moon as she stopped in front of us. I had to look away. Her soft hands on my cheeks forced me to gaze into her dark eyes and a voice as sweet as a flute whispered for Tsubame and me to hear, "No matter what happens, we will always be sisters." And with a certainty in her tone, she assured me, "And I promise we will meet again. Until then, promise me both of you will be good girls."

Absently, I nodded my head. I could never deny Yumi's requests. Our little sister whimpered against my throat but it was acclimation that she understood.

"Kaoru," she said my name slowly, with apparent sadness marring her dark eyes. "Please take care of our little sister. With mom being sick, Tsubame will be needing you more then ever."

I wanted to ask her why couldn't she stay with us; her family. Weren't we good enough for her? Instead I nodded. With a brief smile lightening the lovely features on her face, she stepped back for Shishio to take her place. Awkwardly he reached around the small child wrapped in my arms to place his large and heated hands on my shoulders. With an eeriness shadowing his form, he pierced with me with a knowing look.

"I will have need for you in the future," his dark voice said. The steel in which he spoke sent tremors of fear down my spine. I felt how Tsubame clutched me tighter in fright. Her slight action caused me to stand taller and bravely return the man's unnerving stare. His smile spread wider on his face, a menace glinting in his black eyes. "There's a strong spirit in you that will make you an excellent warrior. Train hard, get stronger and I can promise your reunion with your older sister and Soujiro."

I raised my chin to challenge him. He tossed his head back and his chest rumbled with laughter. "Until our next meeting, little girl."

He stepped away from me, turning his back to me so that I could only look at Soujiro. Instantly, I noticed how one year changed his appearance. His inky black hair shown healthiness. His blue eyes twinkled with mirth as his pale lips rose with a gentleness that caused water to leak from my eyes. "Do you have to go?" I asked with a cracked tone.

"Yes," he revealed to me. He put his hand on my sister's brunette hair and patted the soft tresses. He averted his gaze to her before looking at me. "Take care of each other."

I could only nod my head.

He retreated and I found myself moving forward. Then he faced away so his back was to me. "We will meet again. Wait for me."

"I will."

And they were gone. They simply vanished without a trace. Days turned into months. Within the eleventh month of their departure, mom passed away saying that her final hopes died the day Yumi left our family. Dad wallowed in depression and spent more time teaching kendo classes, vigorously training me, and redefining a style that would suit wielding my gift. However, my little sister's sickness changed his heart as he came close to losing her as we did with mom. When the winter's month closed the year of Yumi's departure, father let go many of the servants tending our estate. Reluctantly, he gave Tsubame to Ms. Tae's care in fear of losing her. Ms. Tae became Tsubame's guardian and the caretaker of Akabeko, our family's restaurant, until Tsubame reached the proper age to run the restaurant herself. With one less addition in the immediate family, my father and I were the only ones left in the Kamiya estate. That meant my father spent many years training me with the Kamiya Kasshin Ryu that he developed for me. This sword style became known as the sword that protects. With every defensive gesture, my gift was meant to deflect my opponent moves. With offensive attacks to the joints, I crippled my opponent while my gift drew them closer and kept my opponent within reach.

I learned I had many advantages on the battlefield being a gifted Kamiya like my ancestors before me. However, my biggest disadvantage was one my father never successfully trained me for. I never learned how to fight against a foe that excelled in discerning ki's. For warriors who knew how to read ki's, they would be able to detect the unnatural wave lengths in my ki, leaving me vulnerable with surprise attacks.

So it came to me as a shocker that I had to face a foe that was adept in distinguishing ki's; acting on my greatest weakness. Another war had men drafted to fight in it. My father, being the only male left in the Kamiya family, had enrolled, giving me no choice but to fend for myself in the dojo estate. At this time, all the servants had left the dojo. His departure left me with a heavy heart, realizing that all the people I immensely cared for left me alone. Tsubame was the only family member I had left but to protect her happiness, I kept my distance from Akabeko.

One night, under a full moon, I was locking the main dojo gates when I felt a heavy ki pressing against my body. I didn't have time to summon my own ki to use my gift as my knees gave away. I slumped against the soiled ground as a slender figure hovered over me. From the poor light of the moon, I could only make out short dark hair, wide glittery eyes and a half smirk ensuing on a stranger's face. The figure simply accosted me but with his every footstep, I gritted my teeth as a heavy mass of ki impeded my need to breathe.

"Kaoru," a light voice said and I felt my whole world shattered. Air was allowed in my thirsted lungs as I looked helplessly at the person I thought I would never see again. How many years have passed since Yumi and Soujiro walked away with a unpredictable and lethal swordsman?

"Soujiro," I breathed his name. All of sudden he embraced me, pulling me into his hard form. One hand was buried in the thick mass of my hair so that his hand cradled the back of my head. The other hand was rubbing up and down my small back. "Soujiro," I called to him after some time being in his arms. I partially could not believe my best friend had returned to me.

"Yes," he replied as he pulled back. I saw the blue glimmer in his eyes and I felt moisture obscuring my vision.

"Why are you here?"

"I said we will meet again."

I pushed against his chest, feeling his arms slipped away from me. Struggling to stand up, I put myself at a distance so I could think with a clear head. "I know, but why now?"

"Because, it's time for everything to fall into place." His smirk turned into a full blown smile that caused my breath to hitch. Even in the moonlight, I could see how good the years have been for him. He seemed to radiate power, confidence and grace for one who stood so still.

"Huh?"

"Master Shishio and Lady Yumi need your assistance." Master Shishio did warn me about needing me in the future and I did spend all my time enduring killing exercises with a sword or bokken to get stronger.

Tilting my head to the side, I lowered my lashes. "What can I do for Master Shishio and my dear sister."

If possible, Soujiro smiled wider. "They want me to help prepare your encounter with Battousai."

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 **AN: What do you think of the first chapter? This beginning is to really explain how Kaoru came to be the one in her family to learn the secret art behind the Kamiya Kasshin Ryu.**


	3. Chapter 2

Hitokiri Battosuai or Battousai the manslayer was a shadowed assassin who carved the new era with his sword. He was the reason the Tokugawa Shogunate fell and the Meiji Era began. However, with the end of the Tokugawa regime, one would have thought that Battousai would be granted a reputable position in the army or the new government. Except he vanished without a trace.

He became a legend; the idealistic warrior known in Japan.

It was almost a decade later. My father was drafted to fight in another war but I had an instinctive feeling that he wasn't coming back. And then there was the unexpected visit from Soujiro. I thought I wouldn't see him again for a long time. But not seeing someone for close to ten years was considered a long time.

Then for me to hear Soujiro say that I was suppose to meet Battousai was a shocker and I found myself laughing at such a ridiculous idea. The look on Soujiro's face was priceless.

"You do realize that Battousai disappeared almost ten years ago. No one knows what happened to him," I said as I settled down from the giggles that were threatening to consume me.

Soujiro's smiled widened. "I do," the words were said so simply that the humor died within me.

"But how?" I asked with disbelief evident in my tone. "Even the Japanese government can't trace his whereabouts."

"That's true but Master Shishio has his resources and I guarantee they are quite reliable." Sensing this topic was getting inappropriate to talk out in public due to anyone walking by could hear such confidential information, I gestured with my hand for him to come inside the Kamiya dojo. I knew he followed me when I took off my shoes and bowed to inscriptions on the dojo wall that referred to the Kamiya Kasshin School as a sword that revitalizes; although I couldn't hear his footsteps.

"After all this time, you still walk on the balls of your feet instead of on your heals," I remarked to make light conversation.

He smiled warmly as if reminiscing the old days. "It's more like Master pounded it into me until it became a habit."

"Then he did a good job. I didn't sense when you entered the dojo's premises."

Silence filtered the air as I went to light the lamps. The sky was getting dark and the clouds were blocking the dim light from the stars. I moved one lamp into the center of the room. Purposely, leaving the school dojo doors open, I knelt down so that my legs were folded under me. I rested my hands on my knees as I motioned for him to follow my movements. He did not disappoint me. However, I couldn't help but eye how graceful he sat. His spine was straight, his shoulders were squared and he held his high. He was truly a different person from when I first met him as a child; a beaten and oddly one.

"So, a swordsmanship that is about revitalization?" he asked as his eyebrows raised in question. "That's a new one."

"I know," I said. I waved my hand dismissively in the atmosphere at the inscriptions on the wall. "That's just for show. My father redefined the Kamiya Kasshin style as a sword that protects instead of killing. He believed it was a great swordsmanship for a new era, it's a way to help samurais redeemed themselves."

Soujiro's smile grew pleasant. "Are you sure your father's style didn't accommodate to your gift?"

I sighed. It had been a long time since I heard someone called my unique ability a gift. My dad started to reference it as a swordsman's spirit or ki. It was the only subject I never fully understood what it meant. "He said it has something to do with ki."

"He's right," Soujiro said. "A swordsman can't wield a sword without having a ki. It's one of the most important components that is trained with the understanding why a swordsman is wielding a weapon. You can say the user of a sword must have a belief that is strong enough for him to wield a sword. That belief becomes the ki."

"I noticed you never mentioned a swordswoman," I clued in. I put a hand to my chest and said, "I am one of them."

His shoulders began to shake as mirth shined in his blue eyes. And I felt contented that I could make my best friend smile after having such a hard life. "Finding a swordswoman in Japan today is tough. You're a rarity."

"Yes, a one of a kind." I realized we were getting distracted from the topic and I really wanted to comprehend what was a ki. "Please continue your explanation on ki."

One corner of his lips curled into a slight smile. "However, there are some people who can manipulate ki in such a way, they can turn it into a physical form. Battousai is believed to have this effect when he fights. You, and your two sisters have this effect as well. I also have this effect."

"How?"

"Well, when you fight, whatever is your belief for holding your sword becomes the main objective of your fight. You can say it becomes like your willpower. If that belief or willpower is strong enough, it becomes manifested into a physical form. In your case, you are able to control wind. In my case, I use my speed."

My eyes widened with his information.

"Which is why I am here. In a few months, there will be a wanderer with flaming red hair, a cross-shape scar on his left cheek, and he will be carrying a real sword. You will have to meet him."

"What does he get from meeting me?"

The smile on Soujiro's face turned into a smirk, which caused shivers of apprehension to flow up and down my spine. I balled my hands into fists to restrain myself. This was my best friend and he held no ill intent for me. I must have felt his negative emotions toward Battousai. "Master Shishio has some special plans for Kyoto. He wants you to distract Battousai. Stop him from wandering around Japan again."

"How could I stop him? I mean a moment ago, no one knew what happened to him. Now, you're saying I'm suppose to keep him here?" I shook my head. "In case if you didn't notice. I have nothing here that can stop him from wandering around Japan, if he wanted too."

"You do," Soujiro said darkly. The hair at the nape of my neck was standing on the edge.

"I do?" I swallowed the lump in my throat.

The ill-intent was gone from Soujiro's aura as his smirk turned into a light smile. "Battousai is an idealistic man. He believes a sword is to protect."

My eyes widened as a gasp escaped my parted lips. "B-but we know that a sword is to slay our enemies, not to protect."

"Exactly, but your father's swordsmanship says otherwise."

Automatically, I waved my hand in the air. "I told you, it's all for show."

"Exactly, but the meaning behind the Kamiya Kasshin Ryu will peak his interest." Soujiro's words left a lot on my mind. If Battousai turned into an idealist; a man who believed he could protect others with his sword then maybe my father's school would hold some interest for him. But the conflict was not many people in the Tokyo accepted my father's idealisms about how to use a sword. Swordsmen were banned from carrying swords. Police officials were brutal to any person holding such an offensive weapon by throwing them in jail and beating every inch of their bodies. The humiliation samurais endured during the peaceful times was enough to make me feel pity and I wasn't one to let my emotions show.

Certainly Battousai's ideal held falseness in a new era.

"This school may attract his attention, but unless I get something like amnesia, there's no way I can convince him to stay," I voiced my opinions out loud.

"Care to clarify?"

"I mean I need to be a kendo instructor who believes the sword is to protect -."

"I see what you mean," Soujiro interrupted but I welcomed it. I wanted to hear his thoughts. "You have to become the distraction and then you will become the motivation for his ideal. It all makes sense."

My brows knitted and my lips pursed into a straight line.

As if reading the confusion on my face, he explained his plan in better detail. "I heard from my sources that Battousai has been wandering from place to place seeking atonement for taking people's lives during the time of war."

I twisted my face in disgust. How could someone be naive as to think they could atone for the lives that were lost? Even the lives I took from my intense training period taught me that once someone died, they stayed dead. My parents' death were the proof.

"He defends the weak with his sword. He hopes the lives he can save and the ones he refuses to take in a new era of peace will make up for the lives lost during the Bakumatsu."

I shook my head after hearing such nonsense.

"I agree with you," Sourjiro said. "But he grows tired of wandering. Fighting for his ideals is taxing his body and his ki. If you can encourage him to fight for his ideal, basically, give him a reason to continue to save people, he will stay here."

"And you really believe I have it in me for him to stay?" I questioned while tilting my head back to laugh. "Sorry to burst your bubble but you're dreaming."

"Not really," Soujiro said as he shook his head. "You have grown into a beautiful woman and your ki sparks like thunder. Any male warrior will be blind not to be attracted by you."

I don't know if it was Soujiro's words or the lack of male attention I received but I felt my cheeks redden. I raised both hands to cover my face and I shut my eyes. I inhaled and exhaled air before speaking. "Okay, that was uncalled for."

"But it is the truth." Soujiro's light laughter rang through the air. Instantly, he got up and glided outside the dojo. From the dim candlelight, I saw him raised his handsome face into the night sky to observe the stars. "I have a plan that will get him here. But I need all the dots to fall into place."

I stood up and followed after him. I didn't bother to put on my shoes as my socks touched the dirty ground in the dojo yard. I stopped next to him and tilted my head until I was staring at the stars beside him. "Okay."

The smile that spread across his face caused my breath to catch and I realized that even though we were separated from each other for many years, his grin still had the same affect on me as it did when we were children.

He stretched his hand in midair, holding it upright as if waiting for me to take it. The moment I placed my hand in his awaiting one, he spun on his heel leading me to the main dojo gates. "Follow me," he said.

I nodded, obliging to his lead.

* * *

After securing the locks at the Kamiya dojo, Soujiro and I walked over to one of the most well known restaurants in Tokyo, Akabeko. Originally, my father founded the establishment and used it as a means to earn extra money. But it was also a meeting point for businesses and people with personal vendettas since the restaurant's location was considered to be in the heart of Tokyo.

However, I wanted to have nothing to do with the restaurant due to my little sister was working in the joint. Also, as the heiress, I didn't want to sully her reputation with my presence. After dad left for the war, the Kamiya Kasshin School lost many of its students. The students claimed that they didn't want to learn kendo from a female instructor. In fact, my neighbors called me a monster for being a strong woman. My skills with a sword was unparallel to any other opponent I faced. And swordsmen were frightened about the idea.

Which explained the reason people keeping their distance from me. They might respect me because I came from a family of wealth but my reputation as a respectable lady was tarnished. Even now while walking through the streets of Tokyo, I could hear the mere whispers of travelers as they discreetly glanced at me tagging behind a stranger. And he was a male. Their eyes widened at the bold display of his hand holding mine while we strolled merrily down the street. He beamed as he kept his attention in front of him, not caring about the opinions of those around him. I bowed my head, veiling my gaze under long and dark bangs.

I lost track of how much time passed until we made it to our destination. His sudden pause in step caused me to bump into his hard frame and I literally bounced back until I was falling backward. I closed my eyes, waiting for my rear to be lashed with the cold and unforgiving ground when I felt strong arms wrapped around my waist.

There was a light chuckle and the strong arms positioned my body upright. I still held my eyes shut, refusing to acknowledge the person who caught me was Soujiro.

"You can open your eyes," he said with a hint of amusement in his tone.

Stubbornly, I shook my head.

"Come on," he said. "We're making a scene in front of your family's restaurant."

At the mention of Akabeko, I opened my eyes and shoved him away from me. Instantly, he let me go and I felt myself swaying. It took years of discipline for me to find my balance. Only when I firmly planted my feet on the ground, I was able to stand tall and stare at the entrance of Akabeko. Determination set on my face as I decided to greet the restaurant I openly avoided at all costs.

And a part of me wondered how Tsubame was doing. Did she grow tall? Did she still remembered Yumi and me? From the last I heard of her from Dr. Genzai, our personal family's doctor, Tsubame took Tae Sekihara's last name in hopes to protect her from being a target from the mafia and the other business lords in Tokyo. Only the people who lived in Tokyo over a decade held knowledge of Tsubame being related to me. The other recent settlers knew little about the dojo. The only fact they acknowledged was that the dojo taught an ideal that would never happen in the Meiji Era. As they lived in a new era, kendo and swordsmanship was a thing of the past.

I felt my hands begin to sweat as my heart thundered in my ears. Soujiro took a step toward Akabeko but I faltered to follow him. Instead I found myself staring keenly at the restaurant. People were bustling by me, somehow avoiding me. Even with them passing in front of me, the restaurant remained in my line of vision.

A high pitch voice called out to us and I blinked several times to be greeted by a sight of a brunette girl with short hair barely reaching her shoulders. Her light green kimono was partially covered by an apron. Her round face was youthful and brown eyes shimmered like diamonds as they watched me.

"It can't be," she whispered. Her small hands covered her mouth. "I can't believe it."

I swallowed the lump in my throat as my suddenly watery eyes took in the beautiful sight of my little sister. She was almost a young teenager but she had grown so much that her head reached my shoulders. Before I could examine how much she changed the past few years, I felt small arms tightly closed around me, a brunette head was buried in my bosom. Not knowing how to react to her, I awkwardly patted her head in affection.

"Kaoru," she whispered my name. "I never thought you will come here."

"You know I wouldn't, but Soujiro brought me here," I responded.

She leaned back and frowned at me. "Soujiro?"

"Yes." I pointed an index finger at the slender man standing at the doorway with a pretty waitress dressed in a similar green kimono like Tsubame. She looked in the direction I pointed and she took in a deep breath. Astonishment flashed through her dark eyes before she ran to Soujiro and hugged him. Easily, he lifted her in his arms and twirled her around as delight shown on his facial expression. To say I was shocked at their familiarity with one another was an understatement.

I walked toward them and lifted a brow. When Soujiro put my sister on the floor, making sure to steady her, he saw my grim expression and winced. Apparently, my best friend kept secrets from me. One secret was he kept in contact with my little sister while he left me alone. And I couldn't help but feel hurt about being left out.

"This way miss," the lady was calling out to me as Tsubame followed the lady into Akabeko. Soujiro made a move to grab my hand, but I evaded it and put myself between him and my little sister. I trailed behind her petite form, swerving through the groups of people eating their meals at their tables. Finally, the waitress stopped at an empty table and gestured with a graceful hand for us to sit down. I was the first one to be seated. Tsubame and Soujiro follow afterward. The waitress bowed at us and left.

I assumed she was giving us time to plan our order but my mind was on other things. Not one to stray, I asked the main purpose of our visit to Akabeko. "Okay, Soujiro. Explain why we're here," I demanded.

Soujiro merely smiled; he seemed unfazed by my grave facial expression.

I was about to demand more questions when the polite waitress came back to receive our orders. Tsubame, who remained quiet during Soujiro's and my conversation, ordered for us. The waitress pleasantly smiled and bowed to us before leaving.

"I'm serious," I hissed at Soujiro. I didn't care if the couple sitting who sat one feet away from us heard our conversation. "Why are we here?"

"Master is in need of Tsubame's assistance," he replied quietly.

My eyes widened as I looked between my sister and my best friend. "What the hell?" My hands itched to have my bokken with me so I could hit my friend to oblivion. There was no chance I was allowing my little sister to partake in some war. She was the one I wanted to have a normal life. I thought she was going to live the life our sister and I couldn't live. But she was to serve a purpose in Shishio's scheme for his Kyoto plans.

"Did you really think that Master will leave her out of his plot? Remember you and your sisters have unique abilities that will help Master triumph," he said with solidarity all while keeping a smile on his face.

"I thought the deal was he would use me and leave Tsubame completely out of the loop."

"You thought wrong." Soujiro simply shrugged his shoulders. He acted like we were discussing the weather.

I couldn't help my reaction to his indifference. I banged my fist on the table since I didn't have my bokken to hit his head. "She's just a child."

"Technically speaking, she's old enough to murder," he said with a despondent tone.

I clenched my hands into fists on the table while I gritted my teeth. "What's that suppose to mean?"

"Master has plans and every warrior will play an important part in it. You can't deviate from it unless you're asking for a death sentence."

Remembering how the burnt swordsman looked with his insides oozing, blood dripping from shredded bandages and the malice glint in his black eyes, I instantly knew I didn't want to cross blades with him. I shuddered at the thought of him watching my bickering with disapproval and a smirk on his bloodless lips.

"What role does my little sister play in this war?" I asked with a defeated tone. I unclenched my fists as I glanced down at my lap.

"You see that's the question we came to discuss. Your sister doesn't have a gift like you and lady Yumi."

"Meaning?"

Soujiro turned his attention to the girl who sat silently during the whole discussion. She was nervously intertwining her fingers as I tried to take her out from partaking in a war. "Do you care to elaborate?"

I raised my head and gazed at my sister with a look on confusion filtering across my face.

She bowed her head until her brown hair fell into her face. With a soft tone she answered what I knew so little about; her abilities. "I can't do what you and Yumi can do. I can't turn ki into a physical form but I do have a way I can manipulate other people's ones."

I frowned; I didn't understand what she meant. Soujiro took over the explanation. "Your sister has a very different gift from you and Lady Yumi. She can manipulate ki in such a way that she can break through anyone's spirit and control their emotions." There was excitement in his tone as his blue eyes shined with approval. I felt a knot formed in my stomach. "In fact, Tsubame has the ability to alter minds."

"Alter minds?" I asked while glancing at my little sister with something close to wonder. I never heard of a Kamiya family member with the ability to alter people's memories.

"Yes," he answered. "And Master thinks it's quite a useful ability."

"Oh really?"

The waitress returned to us with a tray of our food. She bent down so she could place the large tray on the table and rearranged the different bowls so that each one was placed before the rightful customers. She shifted back on her knees and she lowered her head until it touched the floor. Her hands were placed in front of her as a sign of respect. Tsubame said something that I couldn't make out and the waitress rose to her feet. She left the area.

"Earlier in the dojo you said that you have to have amnesia in order for you to play the part as a kendo instructor," Soujiro's voice broke my reverie. I looked at him only to blink several times. I mentioned the only way I could act as an instructor that believed in my father's teachings in the Kamiya Kasshin Ryu was to forget my past. However, that couldn't happen. It was impossible for my life to drastically change.

"With my ability, I can make you forget our dark past," Tsubame said as she moved closer to me until she was a hair's breadth away. "You can finally be happy."

And my only reaction was to gape at them.

* * *

Later on that evening, we returned to the dojo. I had set up a room next to mine for Soujiro to sleep in. Tusbame insisted to sleep in my room like we did when we were younger. It was strange how she could remember many events in the past considering she was a toddler.

I felt a tug of war in my heart every time I saw her, like now. She was walking in the room with a lit lantern. I had set out a futon on the floor next to mine. She sat on the white covers while quietly placing the lantern next to her.

The tug of war in my chest got stronger. One part was relieved she remembered the past. She knew her roots. But another part of me wanted her to forget our bloody past. I wouldn't want anyone to know the suffering we endured because of our abilities.

I shook my head as I turned my attention to my hands resting on my lap.

"Kaoru," Tsubame whispered. Although she naturally spoke softly, even with her mere whispers, Soujiro would still be able to hear her from the other room. The walls were paper thin and Soujiro had excellent hearing. That trait made him a highly skilled warrior.

"Yes," I said as I raised my head to look at her.

Her brown eyes glistened with tears. "You don't have to go through with this."

My lips quirked upward in the corner of my mouth. "We know I do have to go through with it." When I said "we", I was including Soujiro. He might be my best friend but he was absent from my life for ten years. He answered to Master Shishio first and far most.

Tsubame bobbed her head. A tear fell from one eye. "But can't we spend some time together?"

Feeling ashamed for making my little sister sad, my eyes averted to the lantern next to her. Emotions swelled in my chest. Why did I feel like I failed Tsubame again? How many times must the Kamiya family split apart because of our abilities?

Maybe father was right. It would have been better if I was born a male.

Suddenly she grabbed my hand and I flinched. She pulled back as though she was burned. "I'm sorry," I said, hearing my tone begin to crack. "I took the oath to carry the Kamiya burden."

"I know," Tsubame whispered. She lowered her head until her brunette hair covered eyes. "It's just unfair."

"Life is unfair," I said, repeating the same words our father use to say to me all the time. And each time he said those words, he reminded me of a failure I turned out to be. Hopefully, Master Shishio wouldn't be disappointed if I could prove my usefulness to keep Battousai at the Kamiya dojo. It could remedy whatever other plans he had in mind.

"At least one of us can be happy," Tsubame whispered. She didn't have say any more because I knew who she was referring to. Yumi, our older sister, was contented to be with the love of her life. For this reason Tsubame and I were willing to cooperate with Master Shishio's plans. We wanted our sister to continue to be happy and family supported each other no matter what.

A silence stretched between us until I broke it with the rustling of sheets. I laid flat down on the futon while she hovered over me.

"Sis, please close your eyes." Tears glistened from her eyes like pretty gemstones.

I did as she instructed. I felt one of her hands pressed against my chest while the other pressed against my forehead. I winced at the cool roughness of her fingers. It seemed like working as a waitress in Akabeko had been hard for her.

"I'm sorry, my little sister," I told her softly.

"Just try to relax," she instructed and then I felt something pierced into me. A scream tore from my lips as my body began to shake. The pain became so sharp like the edge of steel was cutting through my throat. Breathing became difficult.

"Kaoru!" Tsubame shouted but the pain was too much. It engulfed me. Then my whole body stilled and darkness blanketed me.

* * *

My back was sore and I shifted my frame until I was laying in fetal position. Voices penetrated the blackness of the room. One voice was female and the other one was a male.

"I can't believe I did that to her. There had to be another way."

"There was no other way. Our plan has to be perfect. She must appear her part to deceive him."

"But this can have repercussions. There's a good chance she won't be normal again."

"She will."

"But-."

"She will. And that's final."

Then everything went quiet.

* * *

 **AN: It's sad that Kaoru will be losing her past memories. The next chapter will be Kaoru with her new life. Tell me what you think so far. And thanks for reading. :)**


	4. Chapter 3

The thing I remembered the most in my life was being alone. Everything else was a blur. I know had a mother and father. My mother died when I was young. My father trained me in the Kamiya Kasshin Ryu and left when he was drafted in the war. He never returned home, leaving me to be the Assistant Master of our family style. I had a loving mother and maybe... father was supportive.

I survived long months with very little food to eat due to my poor cooking skills and I tried to make ends meet while training other kendo fighters. Usually, this meant I had to leave my dojo and go to other dojos to teach. It was hard for me to get jobs, considering I was a female and my kendo style wasn't strong enough to defeat the masters. Only through begging and their pity, I was able to manage making a life for myself. Though most of it meant humiliating myself in front of other males. I was used as a hitting bag, and masters kept constantly reminding their students that women were weaker than men; that was why they weren't any female swordswomen.

Yet, I found it awkward how rumors whispered about me once being a fierce swordswoman. Many neighbors could have sworn that my strength could rival Battousai. But something happened... They only whispered a young mysterious man stayed with me for a couple of months before vanishing one night. That was the same night I changed.

I was more approachable. My appearance changed from a comely lady into a tomboy. And the Kamiya estate was in need of a good repair. I would have bought supplies if money was available. I already felt shamed about taking free food from Tsubame from at Akabeko. She visited me three times a week with enough food to last a whole day. The food could have lasted longer if I didn't gulp it all down like I never got exquisite food before.

It was a similar day I sat on the dojo steps. The sun was shining hotly in the dojo yard, discouraging me from practicing the Kamiya Kasshin Ryu. Instead, I sulked because I lost yet another job at a dojo. When I asked them why I wasn't allowed to set foot in their dojo, they mentioned that my sword style breathed a monster who was murdering people in cold blood on Tokyo streets. I denied their accusations because the main purpose of my family's sword style was to save lives. I truly believed in my family's sword, as my strength increased when I was trying to protect someone, like the girl who rapped lightly on the open dojo gates. Tsubame Sekihara was in trouble with one of the drunk men at Akabeko. Fortunately, I was there. The drunk man had a fetish for young girls as he tried to fondle the little waitress until I intervened. I tossed the man on his ass, right outside Akabeko. He claimed he was going to get his revenge, but he still hadn't fight me. Now, Tsubame felt like it was her duty to bring me free food to thank me for the incident. Although, she long ago repaid her debt, she still came over with delicious food and who was I to turn down her offer.

"You're home again, I see," she replied as she saw me sitting dejectedly on the dojo steps.

"Yep, I lost another job," I said.

She frowned before shaking her head. "Well, maybe this food can cheer you up. I brought stew beef with vegetables and white rice. It's all freshly cooked." She raised the wrapped contents of great smelling food.

Immediately, my mood perked up. I stood up on the steps and made my way towards her. "That's my favorite!" I grabbed the bag from her hand and unwrapped them to see different types of food. I pressed my nose to it and I inhaled a deep breath. "There's nothing better than food."

"You can say that again," Tsubame laughed. We made our way inside the dojo, heading straight for the kitchen. As always, I put the containers of food on the table. Tsubame went into the kitchen and returned with bowls and chopsticks. I should have found it strange how she knew her way around the dojo but the thought disappeared when freshly smelling meat was dumped into my bowl. Without waiting for us to say a pray, I snatched my chopsticks and began scarfing through the beef. She laughed and put other types of food in the bowls before serving herself. By the time she finished, I was moving onto my second serving.

"You really have a big appetite," Tsubame commented.

"That's what you get from moving around all day," I said while chewing food at the same time.

"But you weren't doing anything when I came here," she retorted. She brought a rich piece of beef to her mouth. I didn't miss the movement. I had the urge to steal it.

"You came around at a bad time. It's too hot outside for me to do anything, anyway," I said as I shrugged my shoulders. I took the last bite of white rice in a bowl before setting it down with my chopsticks on the table. I lightly tapped my belly, feeling satisfied for the moment.

She giggled at my reaction before shaking her head. "Sometimes I swear you're like a kid."

"I can't help it. I know how to enjoy the little things in life such as food."

"I agree with you." She put her empty bowl and chopsticks on the table. There was a moment of silence; the comfortable kind that had me relishing her company in the dojo. Sometimes, I felt like she belonged here with me. But I shook the weird notion away. Tsubame had been living Akabeko for a long ago. She was the heiress to inherit it after Tae. She had been training from young how to manage such a successful business; however, Tae believed that she had to work from the bottom up.

"You know if everything gets tough, you're welcome to work at Akabeko. We are in strong need of bodyguards."

I scoffed at the idea. "I only got lucky because the bastard was drunk."

Tsubame raised an eyebrow. "But you lifted him over your shoulder as you threw him out of Akabeko. And today, that's still the talk around Tokyo."

"Yeah, please!" I waved a hand dismissively. "People only like to talk because they have nothing better to do."

"You're right," she agreed. She began to place the bowls and chopsticks in her hands before getting up with them. She balanced the delicate dishes in her arms and went into the kitchen. I got up and followed her. She placed them by the wash area. Using the water in the bucket I gathered earlier from the well, she washed the dishes. Again, the feeling that she belonged in the Kamiya dojo nagged me. I put a hand to my forehead.

"Are you okay?" she asked me. She was in front of me. Her brown doe eyes stared at me with concern. I blinked as I saw myself clearly reflecting back in her eyes. I saw my disgruntled black bangs, big blue eyes and my lips pursed into a straight line. I blinked again, before looking away from her.

"I'm okay. I'm just getting this weird feeling."

"What kind?" She put her hands on my arms in a worrying gesture. Instantly, I took a step away from her. I raised my hands to ward her away.

"It's nothing."

"Are you sure?" She didn't make movements to come to me.

"Yep," I answered, giving her one of my bright smiles. "The feeling usually goes away."

"As long as you're okay, that is all that matters. However, I can always send for Dr. Gensai."

"No thank you. He will recommend sleep and then give some horrible stuff to drink." My tongue darted out my mouth to show an "ewe" expression.

Tsubame giggled and my heart fluttered at hearing it. I didn't know how to explain the feelings I got around her. It was strange, but it was like something inside me told me that I wanted to see her happy; that she belonged in this house; that I knew her for a very long time.

I turned away with a small smile on my face. I lifted a closed fist against my chest to feel the tugging sensation in my heart. As much as I felt the weird emotions around her, I knew our first encounter was the day I saved her from getting molested by a drunk man. The funny emotions I felt was from being lonely for a long time. Although I couldn't recall how long my father left me alone, the loneliness crept within me to a point I craved for friends. The problem was people in Tokyo avoided me like a plague. The vendors I bought supplies from when I had money, did whatever it took to get me away. They learned it was best to let me buy my supplies in peace. Even the police kept close tabs on me like I was a criminal.

Sometimes, I was astonished by how the young waitress easily befriended me. Her trust meant more than the world to me. She might not have realized it, but I would do anything for her.

Her twinkling laughter subsided and she leaned against one of the tables I had in the kitchen. She looked at the ceiling with a thoughtful expression on her face. I would have paid money to know her thoughts.

"Is something wrong?" I asked her.

She shook her head. "No."

My eyebrows tugged together. "I don't believe you."

Her hands straightened her light blue kimono with butterflies on it. She averted her attention on the floor. "It's just there's some weird talk going around Tokyo."

I waved my hand in the air. "Yeah, those talks mean nothing." I would definitely know about it because I was in the center of those talks.

"This one might mean something. It has something to do about your dojo."

"Really?" I asked. My interest was piqued.

"There's a man whose been killing people in Tokyo and he's using your family's name." I heard the same news from the dojo that refused me.

"Don't worry about this man. I don't have students anymore. I lost them..." The strange part was I couldn't recall if I had any students in the Kamiya dojo. I raised a hand and scratched my head before turning my back on Tsubame. I walked out of the kitchen into the dojo hall. The Kamiya emblem was hanging right at the main entrance. I bowed before it and went inside. Tsubame followed me while remaining quiet. I stopped in front of list of names inscribed on wooden boards and stared at them for a moment. "So I did have students," I said with a bitterness in my tone.

"I'm sorry," the little waitress apologized beside me.

"You have nothing to apologize for."

"I do." Her voice sounded hoarse. Then I saw a tear run down her face. I almost panicked. I could console myself but not other people.

"No, you don't." I raised my hands in the air. I didn't know if I should pat her on her shoulders, hug her or apologize for my lack of social skills.

"I didn't realize-."

"That I was lonely," I interrupted her. "It's no problem. Eventually, I got used to it."

"But no one should ever feel lonely."

"I'm not lonely anymore. I have you. And people love to talk about me, which makes me less lonely," I tried my best to cheer her up. "Besides I always look forward to your visits. You bring my favorite food."

She smiled through her tears. "I'm glad you didn't burn down the dojo yet."

"I say that to myself every day." I returned her smile. "Now, tell me more about the rumor."

"This man who kills people has a name."

"Well, that name can't be famous like the samurai who forever changed the Bakumatsu."

Tsubame stilled. Her eyes widened as tears left wet trails on her cheeks.

"Tsubame, the way you act, you make me think Battousai the manslayer is here in Tokyo."

Words didn't come out her mouth. Instead, she nodded her head.

And I froze. My heart thundered in my ears. Only one word left me. "What?"

"You didn't know?" she asked. She looked confused. Her eyes were looking everywhere in the kitchen but me.

"I knew there was someone using my school's name for their reason to murder but I didn't think Battousai would stoop so low." I sat down the wooden floor and crossed my legs together while I put a closed fist under my chin. I thought about the stories that were commonly thought about Battousai, the manslayer who carved a new era with his sword. He was an assassin who killed people in the shadows. No one really saw his face but then again, did the stories make sense?

I mean rumors spread about him having red hair like the blood he spilled. His eyes were burning yellow suns that even the night couldn't veil them. And he sported a cross shape scar on his left cheek. Yet for rumors to spread about his physical appearance meant that someone saw him and survived to tell the tale about him.

"I don't think it's about stooping so low," Tsubame said cautiously.

"Then there's something fishy about the whole ordeal." I tilted my head back to look at the young waitress who was stubbing her toes against the wooden floor. "Battousai doesn't seem like the man who would kill people and announce himself to the world. Even the rumors talked about him slaying people in the shadows and then he disappeared after the Bakumatsu."

Tsubame's eyebrows tugged together on her pretty face. "You do have a point."

"And why would Battousai kill people who are part of the new government? Didn't he fight so that this country will become a better place?" I further questioned. "But then again, perhaps he's not happy what he sees. Not everyone gets to live a happier life." I could consider myself as one of those people. At least Tsubame had something to look forward in her life.

"Do you really think that's good enough for him to kill?" she asked.

I put a hand on my lap while tilting my head further back to stare up at the ceiling. "No. Again, it doesn't justify his reasons to kill people. Who did he attack?"

The girl lowered her head as if deep thought. "He attacked officers and anyone else who was there at the scene."

"Hmm... It makes sense that he will slay other people around him. If I were an assassin, I will leave no witnesses."

Somehow I sensed the waitress' shiver. Her ki, which I learned not too long that every living gave off, had a slight shift. I frowned how different it felt from other ki's I had encountered. It seemed heavier, almost stronger. Anyone who could sense ki, wouldn't miss hers. It was noticeable.

"Not that I'm saying that killing is right in any way or form. I abhor killing. But he's reckless. He attacks when other people are around. The Battousai from the Bakumatsu would never make such an error."

"Unless he's rusty."

I shook my head, turning my attention to her. Instantly, I noticed her ki slithered back too normal but I didn't mention it. "A manslayer like Battousai won't get rusty easily. The only way he will turn soft is if he put down his sword since the Bakumatsu and never used it again. Most likely that didn't happen." I witnessed many samurais who were arrested because they still carried their swords in public during peaceful times. It was sad to watch the officers beat them into submission to relinquish their swords. For a samurai to give up his sword was like asking him to give up his life.

For a moment, I glanced behind me. The dojo was a few feet away from me. I couldn't imagine giving up swordsmanship. Although I have been ridicule for being a female who taught kendo, kendo was a big part of my life. Besides, how many women could say they could protect themselves? I couldn't fight everything, but I had a small sense of pride to be able to stand tall with my bokken at my side. I felt strong, confident, and independent.

The last part -independence- was forced into me. I had no choice but to be alone.

"You're onto something," the girl replied, breaking my reverie. I turned to her with a cheeky smile. I swear I love this girl! She was intelligent as well as an amazing cook.

But the smile quickly disappeared as I crossed my hands over my chest. I bowed my head until my chin touched my upper part of my chest. "But doesn't change the fact that someone is defaming my school."

Tsubame knelt down before me. She placed her small hands on my shoulders. "I don't like where this is going."

"You have a right not to like it," she said. I glanced up at her. I could see concern deeply etched in her brown eyes. I wanted to smile brightly and lie about not getting involve in the situation but the problem was suspicious and sticky. No matter which angle I looked at it, I was involved. The Kamiya Kasshin Ryu was spreading around Tokyo of teaching a murderer. Yet the Kamiya Kasshin Ryu was a sword style that believed in protecting others. It went against taking lives.

Whoever was killing people had issues with my school.

"Do you have to look into it?" she asked.

"I see no other choice. I am Assistant Master to the Kamiya Kasshin Ryu. I am involved whether I like it or not."

"But that means you're going to get hurt," she protested.

I gave her a stern expression. "You should have more faith in me."

"I do. You fight with honor. The other person is a heartless killer. "

"No matter what, I have to fight the person. I can't stand back and let him sully my school anymore. If he continues to murder people using my school's name, I will lose my livelihood to survive. Plus, there are many innocent people getting hurt."

"Kaoru, let the officers handle this," the young girl said with desperation. She clutched tightly to my hand. A part of me wanted to shove her hand away from me. Another part wanted to pull her in for a hug.

Instead, I settled for awkwardly patting her hand to comfort her. I didn't think my gesture worked. "They're trying and failing miserably. Perhaps they need someone from the outside to stand up to this man who calls himself Battousai."

"And if he's really the Battousai," she rebutted. This girl really didn't know when to give up!

My frame shivered in fear with such a thought. She must have felt it because her grip tightened. "Again, I have no choice. It seems I have been fated to fight this battle. And if I do face Battousai, then it's all fated to happen. I did learn ago not to fight fate but to accept it."

Little did I know how those words were going to haunt me.

The girl suddenly let go of my hand and shifted away from me. "Is there no other way I can change your mind."

I shook my head. I put a hand on her shoulder. "Let me handle this because I am an Assistant Master of the Kamiya Kasshin Ryu."

She slowly nodded her head but when she lifted her head, I was stunned by the tears flowing down her cheeks. Then, her words shocked me into silence. "And it's something that your father would have done as well." She placed a hand on top of mine. "Just be careful, Kaoru."

I would have answer her but words got caught in my throat. Again, a sense of familiarity hit me. Any other person who dared to lay a hand on me would have seen the other end of the room but not this girl. It was as if she had some power over me. I couldn't harm her. Instead, all my instincts called to me protect her and make her happy. Who was I to deny her? And when she said that father would have done the same thing in my position, she talked as if she knew him. That was impossible. She would have been too young, a child, considering she was a preteen.

I slightly shook my head and gently removed her hand from my shoulder. Why did everything feel strange?

Instead, I shifted the topic to a safe one. "Thanks for the delicious food," I said as I stood up and stretched my arms above my head.

The waitress lips upturned into a small smile. "No problem. I'm happy to always bring food for you."

I side glanced at her and grinned. "I don't mind but remember I don't want to hear Tae complaining about how you're missing work."

The girl gathered her stuff and went into the dojo. "She won't do that or more like can't do that." But the other words she muttered left me feeling all muddled. "Besides, you're more important than anyone else." How was I suppose to answer to that? I didn't think she wanted me to hear her. So I opted to pretend I didn't hear her as I strolled with her out of the Kamiya residence.

* * *

I had a niggling feeling to stay by the girl's side so I found myself walking with her back to Akabeko. It didn't matter if I left the Kamiya dojo gates open. I already knew that no one who lived in Tokyo residence would walk inside the estate. Maybe having a dark reputation was a good thing.

I smiled, even waving off the girl's persistence to lock the gates, to walk her back to our family's restaurant. The stroll was a short one. Besides, what can happen between the time frame from then to now?

The streets were lively with markets. The shopping districts gathered people from all different parts of Tokyo. But it was also these streets that harbored shady characters. I didn't like the waitress walking through the dangerous streets to get back to work. I frowned. Sometimes, I had to wonder how did the girl make it to me unscathed. A lot of people acknowledged that she was friends with me. That meant she was also targeted by people who didn't like me. Even walking through the lively markets, I could feel dark stares of people. I noticed how they kept their distance, careful not to bump into us. Some were bold enough to stop and stare at us like the short man wearing an unusual shade of pink gi with a dirtied light hakama -which was suppose to be white- and a huge straw hat that partially covered his face but didn't hide the white bandage on his left cheek. Parts of his gi and hakama were ripped and were sewn over with other strips of fabric that didn't match his outfit. Then, as if he observed me glancing at him, he lifted a hand to his straw hat and deliberately lowered it. A raven haired woman wearing a fancy pink kimono with yellow circles passed by him and he suddenly disappeared.

Through my years of kendo training, for him to disappear in a second meant he was a warrior.

But for him to be garbed in a pink gi, he was quite an odd one.

Discreetly, I glanced at the brunette girl walking beside me. Her head was bent. Her shoulders were hunched over. My forehead creased with more with wrinkles. The niggling feeling came back with full force to a point I stopped moving. Tsubame didn't notice until she bumped into a large burly figure. Immediately, her head snapped up to look at who halted her movement. She was caught up in her thoughts that she didn't see me pause.

The man she bumped into glared at her before he snarled and pushed at her. Immediately, my hand darted to my hip to feel nothing.

"Shucks!" I berated myself. "How stupid of me to forget my bokken?"

But I surmised that I've been to and from the market streets and never once did I encounter a possible fight with one of the Tokyo residents. They usually evaded me with ease, leaving me to do my own thing, although I could feel their uneasy stares.

"Can't you see where you're going?" the man yelled at her.

"I'm sorry," the waitress apologized and bowed before him.

I stretched my hand out to pull her back to me when he suddenly grabbed her by the ends of her kimono at her chest area and heaved her easily into the air. I heard audible gasps around me as folks began to crowd around us. All their eyes were on them as I became a part of the crowd.

"You should say that again," he bellowed, "And next time think twice about how you walk through the streets."

"She deserves that," a woman whispered from next to me. It seemed she forgot who I was. "She needs someone to put her in her place."

"Do you see the company she keeps?" the old man said from beside her. "I can't believe we just let her walk the streets."

"It's only because she's wealthy. She's the next heiress to the fortune of a restaurant," someone else said.

"Well, just because she has money doesn't mean she can flaunt her status."

"Where's the wasp she was walking with?" So someone remembered I was with her.

"Right here," I replied with ease. My tone was sharp as I stepped forward. People looked at me with alarm as they made a path to the center of the circle. Some even flinched at how close I was to them.

I slowly made my way to the opening they left for me until what I saw waiting there caused anger to heat in my blood. Tsubame was on the ground, cowering in fear from the older man. There was a luscious grin as his dark eyes heated at the sight of her. I looked toward the girl and more anger boiled in my veins. Her kimono was gaping open for the public to see the bindings wrapped around her breasts. My eyes narrowed as lecherous calls were being sent to the girl.

A tingling sensation spread across my fingers. It spread from my fingers to my shoulders as I turn my glare towards the crowd. I didn't like how the crowd let a helpless girl be molested while they cheered it on. Such a vile act deserved punishment.

A gust of wind blew at my hair. Slowly and deliberately I made my way toward the bent girl, who was futilely pulling her kimono together. Her hands were shaking so badly that I heard malicious laughter. Some women looked on with glee in their dark eyes. My footsteps made crunchy sounds that the large man looked in my direction. When his black eyes landed on me, I saw them almost bulged.

So he recognized me.

Then he blinked and he glanced down at my body before a smirk tugged upward on his lips. "Look who else decided to play." He spoke with confidence as his eyes gleamed.

"You're one to talk so big," I replied with force. I step in front of the brunette, blocking his line of vision.

"No bitch, you're talking so big when you don't have a weapon on you," he retorted.

His smirk turned into a big grin until I could see all his white teeth. The whiteness was such a huge contrast to his long black beard. His hand reach for his sword, his fingers curling around the hilt. With his other hand, he brought the sheathed sword in front of him. With his thumb, the sword moved out of its sheathe with a _click._ Instantly, the sunlight flickered on the sharp edge of steel.

I knew my fighting chances facing him without a weapon was slim but I refused to back down when my friend was in trouble.

And the feeling that bothered me began to swarm inside me. My fingers wiggled as the wind blew through my fingers. The tingling sensation began to prickle. My hair blew at all directions around me. Again, I heard gasps as my voice became as strong as steel. "If you think your sword is going to stop me from beating you shitless, you have another thing coming. The Kamiya Kasshin Ryu teaches one how to fight without a sword."

His eyes bulged again. The gasps turned into fear. People stepped back as they sensed a different side of me. For some reason the wind seemed to be blowing stronger.

"The Kamiya Kasshin Ryu," he whispered. Was there uncertainty in his tone?

Something flickered in his black eyes. I couldn't discern the emotion. A whistle sound sounded in the air. His sword went back in it's sheathe as he turned his attention elsewhere. The crowd closer to me dispersed.

"Bitch, this isn't over," he warned before he dashed behind some of the vendors. Automatically, I pivoted on my left foot to see Tsubame's closed fists over her chest. She was breathing heavily as she was looking at me with teary eyes.

"Kaoru," she said my name before she ran to me. Her thin arms wrapped around my frame as she buried her head in my bosom.

"Are you okay?" I asked her, awkwardly patting her head.

"I am now. I was just scared that you might have to fight him," she confessed. Even I was scared that I might have to fight as well and if I did, I would have lost.

When she pulled away from me, I observed I didn't feel the wind anymore. My eyebrows tugged together. For such a hot day, there wasn't much of a breeze but for an instant, I feel like my body was being incased by wind. Was that possible?

"Kaoru, come on!" The girl was tugging me away from the crowd. The whistle was getting louder and clearer. The officers were getting closer. "We need to get out of here!"

She was right. If we stayed, although I didn't carry a weapon, I would be thrown in jail much to happiness of the people in the market place. And who knows what will become of the waitress.

My feet started to move but the man wearing the pink gi and the dirty hakama from earlier caught my eye. His head was high enough for me to spot red around his face. Golden eyes flashed beneath the brim of his straw hat. My eyes widened and I turned full face in his direction while Tsubame pulled at my arm. I kept him within my sight until he somehow blended within the crowd.

We were almost out of reach from the dispersing crowd. I craned my neck over my shoulder to see the empty spot. I blinked and the spot was occupied by a tanned boy. His hand reaching into the gi of one of the shoppers at a vending stall.

Then, I had no choice but to turn my head forward and keep my feet moving while we escaped from the officers.

* * *

 **AN: Sorry for the miscalculation. This is already an existing chapter but I added a Preface, in the beginning of it, so I can give you readers an idea what to look for. The next chapter will be Kenshin's and Kaoru's first meeting. Keep a look out for it. Thanks for reading. :)**


	5. Chapter 4

**AN: This chapter is somewhat long with a lot of re-captions to episode 1, however, I tweaked some of the dialogue to fit Kaoru's story and there are some added parts (some AU) that wasn't included in episode 1. I hope you enjoy reading this chapter as I had fun writing it.**

* * *

"That was a close encounter," Tsubame said the moment we returned to the dojo. She sounded relieved as she let me go to sit on the porch. In the morning, I took the time to clean the wooden floor before the day got hotter. These days had been unforgiving with the sun blaring down on Tokyo.

"Aren't you going to sit down?" the little waitress asked me with a frown on her face.

I smiled a little while shaking my head. Instead, I went to lean against one of the dojo poles while staring at the open gates. Maybe, I should close them. Who knew when the police were going to give us a visit.

"Do you mind if I stay here tonight?"

I frowned, realizing what I was going to ask her next. "Are you sure Tae will allow that?"

"She wouldn't mind. She likes you a lot." Given my school's reputation and me along with it, I let that comment slide.

"Perhaps, I can allow you to stay here tonight but I must get you back to Akabeko early in the morning."

The girl nodded her head as a wide smile splayed across her lips.

The matter was settled. Tsubame was going to stay the night and early in the morning, before the people got up to do their daily shopping at the vendors, I was going to escort the brunette to her place.

* * *

It was quite early in the morning when a loud whistle blared through my dreams. Disgruntled, I got up from my futon while lazily wiping the tiredness away from eyes with my hands. A shuffle of footsteps followed by shouts passed beyond the gates, instantly notifying there was a disturbance. Quickly, I dashed to the clothes I wore the previous day and donned them on, a green gi and black hakama. I was glad I slept with the bandages that I bounded tightly against my chest.

I tip toed my way out, not wanting to wake up Tsubame. I made sure to stop by the dojo to grab a bokken. I wouldn't want to face danger without a weapon like the last encounter when I faced Tsubame's assailant.

Guilt swarmed in me. I sort of promised the brunette not to look into the situation with Battousai and my kendo school being defamed but I had no choice. Someone was hurting other people using the Kamiya Kasshin Ryu and as the Assistant Master I couldn't let that person defile my school's name.

Coming up with a possible reason, I swatted aside my remorse and went to face my problem.

As I made my way out of the dojo, I closed the gates behind me. I decided to stay close to the school's perimeter to better protect Tsubame. The morning air was foggy. The streets were absolutely silent. The sky was beginning to lighten, brightening the streets to be visible. However, the fog created an eerie feeling that had me cautiously treading around the school.

When nothing fascinating came into sight, I began to grow bolder. I wandered further away from home.

And then I saw a figure in dense amount of mist. The figure looked to be a male, strolling calmly through the street without worry. Why would someone be walking around Tokyo in this dead hour of the morning? Unless he was...

My footsteps quickened as my fingers curled tightly around the bokken. I stopped when I was a few feet away from him. His back was to me. He wore an odd gi, pink and a dirtied white hakama that had seen better days. He carried a bag over his shoulder but it was the long sheathe at the left side of his hip that caught my attention.

"Wait!" I called out to him. I pointed my bokken at him. "Wait, Battousai the Manslayer!"

The person stiffened. Just then, I discerned he had long red hair, which was unusual in Japan. Slowly, he turned to me. His face revealed a cross-shaped scar while eyes the color of violet blinked questionably at me.

"I finally found you! You look weaker than I thought, Battousai the Manslayer!" I exclaimed with determination. Assessing him, I realized that I might have a fighting chance. He wasn't as mighty powerful as the rumors made him to be.

"Ready yourself!" His eyes bulged at my declaration. I sprinted to him, my bokken was raised high in the air. His movement astonished me. One second he was in front of me as my bokken descended on him and then the next second he disappeared.

I blinked before looking up as I saw him soar through the air like an expert warrior until he landed on a box that broke under his weight.

I became speechless. His eyes were swirly as the shattered pieces partially covered him. He looked ridiculous.

Quizzically, I looked at him before inhaling a deep breath. I accosted him slowly. "Are you really the legendary manslayer? You're killing people..."

"Wanderer," he interrupted. I blinked again, becoming disarmed by his brilliant smile. "I am wanderer. Merely a wandering swordsman, I am."

But, finding him walking the street with a sword at his side still had me wary of him being Battousai.

He must have read the doubt on my face as he raised the hilt of his sword to me. "Could I truly slay anyone with this?"

I pulled out his sword, my face going numb as I noticed his sword was different. The side was that suppose to be dull glinted in the mere light from the sky, displaying a sudden sharpness.

I held up the sword more to the sky to get a better look at it. "What is this? The blade is on the wrong side."

"A reverse-blade sword, it is," the warrior replied to my confusion.

"A reverse-blade sword?" I disliked sounding ignorant. This man was making me feel like a fool.

"It cannot slay anyone. And lacks evidence of such." Slowly, he rose to his feet and slapped his rear to remove the dust from his fall.

Examining the blade, it looked to be brand new unlike the man's appearance. It seemed he took better care of his sword than himself. "True, there doesn't seem to be a chip on it. It looks as good as new."

"Proven my innocence, have I not?" he asked with an innocent expression on his face.

I glared at him and took a couple of steps toward him with his sword still in my hand. With my pointer finger I began my lecture. "You know Battousai has been appearing every night killing on the streets with a sword." I shoved him back using my pointer finger but for some reason he looked alarmed about something. "Wandering around the streets at this hour with a sword, anyone would be a suspect. But first of all its forbidden by Meiji law to carry around a sword."

Another whistle blew in the distance. "Is it the real one this time?" I threw his sword in the air, forgetting him. I ran toward the source. I missed when his display of struggle to catch his sword changed. Deftly, he caught his sword in its sheathe, his eyes narrowed as he looked into the direction of the disturbance.

Blood leaked down from the sword as three police men faced Battousai. They quaked in their boots as two other figures were sprawled lifelessly on the ground.

"Weak!" the large man yelled. His face was partially covered, only his dark eyes was revealed. Yet his voice sounded familiar to me. "Weak all of you!"

Two of them slashed their swords at him but the large man attacked instantly. Another man obscured my view but I heard his words. "He's strong. With that strength, it can only be the legendary manslayer!"

Without hesitation, I leaped past the officer with my bokken posed to attack. "Enough of that Battousai!"

Both of us clashed but I felt his sword did more damage to me than my bokken did to him. I skidded to a halt and pivoted on my feet to face him. Blood squirted out of my right arm and I winced in pain. I couldn't falter yet. He brought his sword down on me with a blur, cutting my bokken in half.

"Oh no!" My eyes widened, waiting for him to kill me and then I was swept off my feet. Literally, I was in the arms of the man who I lectured earlier about carrying around a sword. Switching glances from him and the assailant, I noticed Battousai's sword was embedded into the wall of a gate. A shudder went through me. That could have been me. This red-headed man saved my life.

I looked back at him. "Wanderer?"

"It's quite reckless to fight a real sword with a wooden one."

The whistle blew again and I heard shouts in the distance about Battousai.

"I am Battousai. Battousai the Manslayer of the Kamiya Kasshin Ryu!" the larger man yelled over his shoulder as he was running away from us.

Suddenly, I began to struggle in earnest to get out of the wanderer's arms but a weakness overtook me.

"It's reckless, that it is," the red-headed man tried to warn me.

"He's using my family style to kill people!" I couldn't struggle anymore as the hand I had extended toward the man went limp at my side. My vision faded to black.

* * *

"So they meet?" A masculine voice said in the distance. I couldn't see the person. I was surrounded by darkness.

"Yes," another distinctively feminine voice replied. I knew that voice anywhere. I opened my mouth to say her name but my lips wouldn't move.

"Then things are going as our Master planned out. Now, she has to think of a reason to make him stay."

"I won't have to be here for anything else."

"Really? You're that confident she can complete her task without help."

"As the way things look for her, he'll have no choice." The words faded and then I woke up to finding someone bandaged on my injured arm and the person responsible was outside making breakfast. Worse yet, the warrior could cook better than me.

After introductions was made between him, Dr. Genzai and his granddaughters, I did something out of the ordinary.

"Mr. Wanderer, if you like, you may stay here until you leave town," I offered the red head.

Dr. Genzai and the red-headed warrior paused in the midst of what they were doing to look at me. I felt like I had to justify my reason for letting a complete stranger stay with me at the dojo. Perhaps, I was tired of being lonely but I would never openly admit it.

"Well, you did save me and you don't look like you can stay at an inn. Call it warrior's compassion."

"You don't know who I am. Is it really all right?" the wanderer asked.

"I'm sure you have your reasons to be a wanderer. I have no reason to question." I would never forget the look on his face. He was happy at my offer and for a second I felt my heart pound in reaction.

"That's sounds reasonable," Dr. Genzai replied. I turned my attention to him, relieved that I could focus somewhere else than the wanderer. "It will certainly put my mind at ease to know you're not going to be alone."

I swallowed air and childishly, I puffed my cheeks at him. He chuckled at my reaction. "What's that suppose to mean? I can look after myself now that I'm seventeen."

The elderly doctor who was like a second father to me slightly shook his head.

"Oro!" the wanderer exclaimed. Both Dr. Genzai's grandchildren threw themselves on him. He fell to the ground and I stifled a laughter with a hand. The red head was really goofy and clumsy. I couldn't imagine him as a powerful warrior and I had to wonder how he got away with wandering Japan with a reverse-blade sword at his hip.

Dr. Genzai broke me out of my reverie with his next words. "At least someone will be here for you."

My eyebrows tugged together and I was about to ask him what he meant but he rose to his feet. "Come on girls, we need to return to clinic."

The girls paused in their pulling the wanderer's clothes. "Aww, do we have to go?" they questioned him in unison.

The old man nodded his head. They deflated until the red head promised to play with them again. Instantly, they brightened up and left with Dr. Genzai.

"Thank you." I smiled beside him as we watched their forms disappeared in the streets. "I've never seen Dr. Gensai's granddaughters look so cheerful."

He glanced at me. "I didn't do much."

I lowered my head, letting my bangs shield my eyes. "As you can see, it's just me here and this place doesn't get that lively." Then, I raised my head and fully smiled at him. "But since you're here, you brought it back to life."

I smacked a hand to my head, worrying that I was scaring away the wanderer with my weirdness. Seriously, I wasn't good at socializing with people since I lived alone for awhile. "I'm sorry if that came out all wrong."

I swiveled on my feet to return inside my home. The wanderer didn't say anything. I could only feel his curious stare on my back.

The loneliness engulfed me like a knife piercing my body multiple times. I didn't have much of a livelihood inside the dojo walls, which was why I had to go to other dojos in search for work. However, the last students -if I could call them that since they rarely attended classes- had turned me down when I asked for their help. I lost everything.

Finally, my legs gave out from under me. I was kneeling when another figure came by my side. How long was he was watching me?

"Miss Kaoru, are you okay?" the red head asked me.

I tried my best to suppress my tears as my lips spread into a shaky smile. Instead of verbally answering him, I opted to nod my head. I decided in a peril situation to look for a solution and it would be best if I do something that comforted me. I stood up on wobbly legs and the wanderer was beside me, holding me by the shoulders.

"I'm good," I said to him. He let me go while I walked inside my home. I went straight into my room to grab an extra pair of clothes. When I went to the bathhouse he was already putting wood in the fire. It was only his first day and he made himself at home by doing little chores. I had to wonder what would my home be like if I had family.

My chest hurt and I shook my head to rid such thoughts. I would never have a family unless I married. However, most of the sane men didn't want to have anything to do with me. And the ones who were willing to give me a shot wanted to dominate me.

I shuddered at having to share my home with one of those sick bastards and calling him my husband.

"Miss Kaoru, your bath is ready," the wanderer called me to me.

"Thanks," I barely whispered. I didn't know how long I was going to hold a brave front. At least in the bath house I could let my tears fall without being labeled weak.

I walked to the bathhouse and almost sighed at the warm invitation in front of me. There was a tub filled with cleanly hot water. The steam filled the whole room I was in. I disrobed, letting the clothes fall a heap at my feet. I wrapped my hair in a towel and dipped myself into the hot water.

Another sigh escaped my lips. The only luxury I could afford was this bathhouse. After coming home from a hard day's work, a bath had a way of soothing my worse tensions.

"I'm going to have to protect this school all by myself," I muttered to no one. "But can I really do it?"

I inhaled a breath. "This is no time to be depressed." My head ducked beneath the water's surface, wetting the towel and my hair. I didn't know how long I stayed underwater but when I emerged to the surface, I heard a commotion outside and then the wanderer barged into the bathhouse. His eyes widened and his cheeks reddened as he took in the sight of me naked.

I screamed, covering my chest from his view before he realized what he did. He scrambled out of the bathhouse but on his way out he fell on his rear. Any other time, I would've laughed but being seen naked by a stranger, especially one of the opposite sex could shock someone senseless.

It didn't help that once I was fully clothed, I had to punish him for seeing me at my most vulnerable. A man didn't walk simply walk in on a woman's bath.

I left the wanderer in my family's shed so he could have time to ponder on what he did while I made my way to my room. Now, that I had a bath food seemed like a good idea. Did Tsubame have any food left over?

My footsteps faltered and my eyes rounded.

Tsubame.

Immediately, I rushed to the room she was staying in. When I slipped open the shoji, she wasn't there. Instead, a neatly folded futon with a pillow and blanket greeted me. Everywhere else was dark.

I backed out of the room until my back pressed solidly against the wall. How did I forget her? Did she return to Akabeko safely? Without bothering to change clothes, I grabbed a bokken and put on wooden sandals. I headed for the main gates and exited the place, leaving the wanderer to hold down the fort although he was locked away in the shed.

* * *

By the time I made it to Akabeko I was panting for air. Hunching over, I waited until my breathing was even before I straightened up to my full height. There were some drunken men blocking the entrance that I had to push my way through. My hand absently checked my left waist to see if my bokken was still there. If push come to shove, I was going to use it. Fortunately, they didn't pay me any mind as there were some other women to entertain them. Probably, the men had money.

In Akabeko, I squeezed my way through the crowds of people. Akabeko was quite lively tonight. If I thought the drunk men outside the restaurant were the only ones drunk, then I had another thing coming. Inside, the tables were packed with both men and women were doing naughty things out in the open that a blush creeped on my face. There was liquor and food everywhere and I had to stop to take in my surroundings. I didn't see Tsubame in sight and I sighed in relief.

There was no way I wanted her to be working in such an eventful night. I couldn't believe that one day she would be running this type of business, however, I understood that she wouldn't always be a child.

I made my way through the groups of people to the back of the restaurant. Usually, Tae and the other waitresses could be found in the back with the cooks. As soon as I reached the back of the restaurant, I saw Tsubame was sitting on the floor. Amongst her, the other waitresses were scurrying back and forth to get their customers' orders.

Tae was the one who spotted me. "Kamiya, what are you doing here?"

Tsubame whipped her head in our direction. Her eyes widened at me. Before I could answer Tae's question, the small waitress ran to me and hugged me fiercely. "Oh gosh! I was so worried about you!"

"Wait, what?" I asked stupidly while I tried to peel her off of me. I was suppose to be saying that to her.

"I thought they got you," she said. She pulled away from me with a frown marring her pretty face.

"Who?" I questioned her. She shook her head, making her brown tresses sway with her movement. She avoided looking me in the eye. "Tsubame?"

I exchanged glances from her to Tae. After a moment of quietness, it was Tae who offered me an explanation. "There were some men gathering here to ambush you at Kamiya dojo."

I blinked at her. "What?"

"The same man who you saved me from is the same man who is posing as Battousai the Manslayer," Tsubame further explained.

My facial expression turned grim. "He was here and now he is on his way to the dojo?"

The little waitress nodded her head. Now, was not the time to dawdle around at Akabeko. I left the wanderer by himself in the dojo, and worse, he was locked in my family's shed. "I have to go!"

I swiveled on my feet, ready to dash out of the restaurant when I felt someone tug on my yukata. I craned my neck over my shoulder. My tone turned sharp. "Let me go, Tsubame."

"No."

"Tsubame," I bit out in warning.

Softly, Tae put a hand on the brunette's hand. "Please, Tsubame, you have to let her handle her problem."

"But..." She lowered her head until her bangs covered her eyes. Her fingers tightened on my yukata. "Be okay."

"I will," I promised her. There was no way I was ready to die. And I wasn't going to let another innocent person die because some madman was posing to use my family's swordsmanship to kill people.

She let me go and without looking back at her and the other woman I ran out of the restaurant.

* * *

I made it back to the dojo and hurriedly opened the gates. I ran through the yard to the shed and unlocked the door. The doors opened with a hiss but I was greeted to an empty room. The sounds of my raspy breathing filled the air as all kinds of questions ran through my mind. Each one was more unpleasant than the last. Did the men get to the warrior first? Did they hurt him? Were they using him as a hostage?

If they were using him as a hostage, then I was a big trouble. I didn't know where to start looking for him.

My mind was in chaos and learning swordsmanship from my father, I had to clear my head. I did the only thing that would calm me. I headed toward the direction of the kitchen and took out ingredients to make tea. My tea, usually, came out bland compared to Tsubame's one but the jasmine tea I had soothed me.

In the process of making my tea, I thought about who could be the culprit of a man behind the cloth that concealed his face. He said he was using the Kamiya Kasshin Ryu to kill people, which meant he was a former student at my family's school. Perhaps, if I go through the records, I would learn his name.

Then another occurred to me. Tsubame said I had saved her from the man before. If he was the same man I faced at the market, then he didn't know me personally until he discovered who I was. Then, he wasn't really the legend he claimed to be.

I blinked my eyes while putting down the kettle of boiling water on the kitchen table.

I also remember when he attacked me, he used his left hand to hold his sword. Did that mean he was a lefty?

The log my father kept with his past students mentioned swordsmen who were lefties. If I could narrow down the list, I would identify the phony Battousai.

Feeling excited about my discovery, I rushed back into the dojo to look at the log. I found the book my father used and paused. The book contained my father's handwriting. Pain tingled in my chest. I frowned when I noticed the feeling wasn't pleasant. I shook my head, ignoring the feeling. Time was limited.

I opened the book to see a list of male names. Battousai had disappeared ten years ago so I decided to go that far back. However, all the names written of swordsmen were righties.

"Dang it!" I exclaimed. "There has to be lefty somewhere, unless... I halted in thinking out loud. "Maybe... he wasn't always a lefty and if he was in the war, then he had to be in the school earlier than ten years ago."

Flipping back the pages, I came across one name that was crossed out. According to the detail scribbled by my father, the man named Gohei Hiruma disobeyed my father's teachings and was expelled. He challenged my father who injured the thumb on his right hand. "That means Gohei Hiruma can never hold a sword using his right hand."

"Exactly," a rough voice said from the shadows. Immediately, frightening looking men with devious grins on their ugly faces appeared at the dojo doors. Gohei, the biggest and tallest men out of the bunch stood in front of them. A malicious grin overtook his face as he saw my predicament. He had me exactly where he wanted me. He and his men cornered me and since I was alone, they could do anything they wanted to me.

My eyes darted warily around the room and a part of me felt relieved to see the red headed man wasn't with them. That meant if I could use my training, dirty tricks and all would be okay to take down some of the foes. However, I was severely going to be hurt or this might be my last fight.

"Awww... Are you looking for a way out?" the large man faked his concern. The other men laughed with him as he slowly accosted me.

"Why?" was the only question I could ask him at the moment. If I could delay him long enough, I could find a way out of the dojo.

"Seriously, you don't remember me?" His footstep halted as he titled his head to look at me.

Deliberately, I shook my head.

"I've waited eleven years in hell for this day to come and you don't remember me?"

Again, I shook my head.

All of a sudden, he shouted loudly to a point I had to cover my ears. My hands didn't shield my ears properly for I was still able to make out his words. "I waited for the day I could throw the Kamiya Kasshin Ryu into the abyss and you still don't remember me!"

When I noticed he didn't make another move toward me, I braved answering him while removing my hands from my ears. "So disgracing my father's with street slaughter was your revenge?"

"When you put it that way, I feel like thanking your dad," the fake Battousai commented. He began approaching me as his eyes glinted mockingly at me. My feet shifted backwards with his every footstep. "Originally, I wanted to show him how I perfected my swordsmanship the past eleven years with my left hand but you'll have to do."

A trembling hand moved to my left hip. With reluctance, I pulled out my weapon. He leeringly laughed at my shaking form. "Where's the brave girl from the market?"

What he didn't realize was there was a difference from me that day and now. That day Tsubame needed my help and I was willing to fight to protect her. Now, I was the only one who had to fight against many rancorous men. It was an extremely disadvantaging situation.

"How about I play it easy on you? I'll let you have the first strike," he viciously teased me. The men in the back of him hooted.

"A little thing like her can't do a thing!" a man shouted in the background.

"How about you leave this to us!" another one hollered.

In their moment of distraction, I struck Gohei with my bokken but he was swift. He caught it with his right hand and then brandished his weapon, which was a long-sheathed sword. He brought it down hard on my left shoulder, making me cry out. My eyes shut as pain racked through my whole body. Then, he lifted me, like I was some ragged doll, into the air. He held a fistful of my yukata in his hand.

"My revenge will be complete when I kill you and burn down the school. I will send you to hell slowly, the way your father did to me."

He glanced over his shoulders to the men who followed him. "Do you want your swords to taste some blood first?" he asked his men. A shudder went through my body at the bloodlust in their eyes.

My eyes shut in despair as I realize I was about to die. An image of a brunette girl flashed through my mind. A tear leaked down from one of my eyes.

Each man volunteered to slice me in half.

"Any last words?" Gohei directed his question to me.

"A sword is used to save people," I replied keeping my eyelids down.

He put the end of his weapon to my chin. Roughly, he dug into my skin with it. "Why don't you save yourself first?"

The men cackled with laughter behind him. It echoed into my ears. He was right. Why couldn't I save myself whereas the times Tsubame's safety was involved I was able to protect her?

There was another footstep in the distance and the men stopped their laughing. "Nishiwaki, what is it?"

"He's strong," the man answered and I heard a thud on the woodened floor. Instantly, my eyes shot open to see the red headed wanderer standing at the door. However, his appearance seemed somewhat different from the first time I met him. For one, his eyes were sharper. Two, he seemed to carry himself with a burning confidence. And three, his speech pattern and the octave of his voice was slightly dissimilar.

"Remove that hand, if you will," the wandered demanded.

Gohei lowered his arm, bringing my body down but my feet didn't touch the floor. In fact, his full attention was on the red head. "I remember you."

The red wanderer closed his eyes. "I should have defeated you yesterday."

Despite the fact that warrior looked different, I didn't want him to get hurt due to my problem. It was better not to involve innocent people. "Don't! You can't possibly hurt him or the others!"

"I see. Another fool with some idealistic crap about a sword."

"No." The wanderer began walking toward the group of men with no fear on his countenance. "A sword is a weapon." With each footstep forward, he gave his interpretation of the sword. "Swordsmanship is learning how to kill. That is the truth. What Miss Kaoru says is play-talk that only those with untainted hands can say."

Then, he smiled charmingly at everyone, breaking the intense atmosphere he created with his talk. "However, this unworthy one prefers Miss Kaoru's play-talk more than the truth, this one does."

I found it strange how he referred to himself as unworthy when he didn't before. "This one wishes that in the world to come, her play-talk becomes the truth."

"Get him!" Gohei commanded his group. The men unsheathed their swords as they surrounded the wanderer.

"This unworthy one does not wish to hurt anyone, that he does." The men didn't listen to him. They attacked him from all sides and within a flash they all collapsed on the floor.

The rest of the groups' mouths dropped to the ground. He seemed to dance a deadly one around the room, disappearing and appearing at places. The only trace he was leaving were the limp bodies of men as they dropped like hot potatoes on the floor.

Gohei gritted his teeth while I was observed the wanderer's flawless swordsmanship with awe. He seemed to able to predict the men's movements and he gets to them quickly. His swordsmanship was based on speed, accuracy and prediction. This warrior must have been in many fights to foresee different movements.

With a slash of his sword, four men crumbled to the ground all at the same time.

"Red hair, cross-shaped scar on his left cheek... This guy..." Gohei didn't get a chance to finish his remark.

The red headed man rested the sharp end of his sword on his shoulder. He craned his neck over his shoulder as he narrowed his eyes on the larger man. "I forgot to mention one thing. The swordsmanship of Battousai the Manslayer is neither Kamiya Kasshin Ryu or your style. He uses Hiten Mitsurugi Ryu, an ultrasonic killing style." The reverse-blade sword suddenly glinted on his shoulder, making it appear deadly.

"It will slay anyone unless used with a sword like this one," he continued.

It finally made sense why the wandered was so hesitant on staying in the dojo in the first place. He was the real Battousai.

"You're the real Battousai?" I voiced out my thought, although I made it sound like a question.

I was dropped to the floor non-gently as the large man stepped in front of me. "Interesting. We only need one Battousai in this world," he said.

Comparing both of them, it looked like the red headed warrior didn't stand a chance but seeing his skill I knew better. He was going to win. As if to confirm my suspicion, Gohei removed the sword within the wooden weapon. He raised his sword into the air. He never saw when the real Battousai launched himself into the air. Deadly purple eyes and a shining sword was all Gohei saw before Battousai's sword impacted hard against Gohei's weapon. The large man crashed into the wooden floor.

Debris, momentarily, blinded me. When the air cleared, the real Battousai was sheathing his sword. "This unworthy one have no attachment to the name Battousai. But this one can't give it to someone like you either. You will never be able to hold a sword with both hands."

Another man who fell back from the fight to witness Battousai bring down every man realized his comrades weren't dead. They were just knocked out. The red head then shifted his gaze to him and instructed him to go to the authorities. The man ran out from the dojo like his life depended on it.

Then I was left alone with the warrior.

I was taken aback by the softness in his eyes when he looked at me. He better be careful with the way he looked at girls because eyes like his could give them the wrong idea. He apologized to me in a grand manner and was about to leave the dojo.

"Idiot!" I screamed at him, catching him off guard. If my dojo wasn't a mess, I would have laughed at this man's personality. But I got serious with him as I rose on my two feet. "You're just going to walk away? How do you expect me to build the Kamiya Kasshin Ryu without you?"

I inhaled a deep breath before I continued. "Look, I said I don't care about people's pasts!"

He tried to nicely interrupt me but I wouldn't listen to him.

"I didn't say I want the Battousai to stay. I want the wanderer to stay." I realized I said too much so I opted for turning away from him. "If you insist on wandering, at least tell me your real name."

"Kenshin Himura." I heard two words and some footsteps. The shoji slid closed and I was left to inhale air into my lungs.

The fighting was over. The dojo was safe. The warrior who saved my life was gone. It was up to me to clean up the mess he made and to bring honor to the kendo school once again.

I swiveled on my feet when I saw him standing before the dojo door. There was a goofy smile on his face. "This unworthy is a little tired of wandering. Although you never know when this one will have to wander again. This unworthy one is a bad cook and might walk in on your bath."

"If you do," my facial expression turned deadly as I made a fist with my right hand. I aimed it for his face and it hit its target. He fell on the floor with his cheek swelling into a massive proportion. "I thought you could dodge my punch."

"You're pretty powerful, that you are," he said all swirly eyed. I blinked at him, wondering if he really was Battousai. I helped him on his feet while apologizing. I didn't like to randomly hit people, not if they didn't deserve it. Besides, I was raised better than to use violence.

We dealt with the police as they took away the bad men from the dojo and Dr. Gensai came to us once again to tend my wounds. He even took care of the wanderer, no, Kenshin's wound. It was amusing to see him flinch while Dr. Gensai's granddaughters called him baby.

Dr. Gensai walked over to me and knelt next to me. He saw the smile twisting on my lips and he smiled in return. We left Kenshin to play with the girls.

"I'm glad that you're okay," he whispered, only wanting me to hear.

Calmly, I put a hand on his shoulder to comfort him, although my words sounded doubtful. "I'm glad to be okay."

He shook his head. "At least with him around, I know you'll be alright."

I gave him one of my stern expression. "Do you think I can't take care of myself?"

"No." He shook his head. "I feel better knowing you have company."

I raised my eyebrows. "Even though he's a male?"

"Kaoru," he just said my name before we burst out into fits of laughter.

"Hey! What are you laughing at?" Dr. Gensai's older granddaughter, Ayame, asked us.

"This is unworthy one will like to know to," the red headed man replied.

The doctor and I continued laughing. It was rare for me to enjoy my time with people so I made sure to make the best of the time I had left with them. Especially, since there was a wanderer staying under my roof, I had a feeling that things were going to change but if he decided to wander sometime soon at least I would've experience what it was like to have companions.

* * *

Elsewhere, a dark male made his way into a Akabeko. A big smile was plastered on his lips as he saw a petite brunette waitress walk her way over to him. She deeply bowed to him and gestured for him to follow her to the back of the restaurant, away from prying ears and eyes.

The pretend owner of Akabeko greeted him with a polite smile that never touched her eyes. He was aware that taller woman didn't like him or the suspicious business he brought into the restaurant; however, she had to deal with it.

"How are things?" the little waitress asked him. They both knelt down while she reached for a cup and set it out in front of him. She picked up a teapot of boiling tea and poured the content into his cup. He was in no rush to answer her question as he brought the steaming hot liquid to his lips. He sipped silently, enjoying the peace between them.

She set the teapot down. Nervously, she began to twine her fingers together to occupy her thoughts.

"You were right," he finally said. "The plan is in motion without your assistance."

"So then Battousai will be staying around for good?" she questioned as she raised her head to him. She saw intense blue eyes staring right back at her while a smile was still plastered on his lips.

"He stopped wandering for now but you and your followers must help Kaoru give him a reason to stay."

Tsubame's eyebrows tugged together on her pretty face. "Are you saying to start trouble at the Kamiya dojo?"

"I'm saying to use your imagination." He shrugged his shoulders and then he finished his tea before settling the cup on the polished woodened floor. "You have the place and the connections to make things happen. If you keep things eventful for Battousai, he'll have no choice but to stay."

Disbelief crossed the waitress' face. She was about to say something when he placed a deadly finger to her lips. Normally, a single movement, like a finger could render a person unconscious but he wouldn't harm an ally.

"He'll even protect Kaoru."

His smile widened on his face when he saw the doubt cleared from her dark eyes. He removed the appendage away from her. Yes, one would do anything for their loved ones and this waitress was the one who would give her all to save her sister.

She nodded her head in understanding.

"Good, as it is, Master Shishio is counting on you." He saw the way her small body shuddered at their Master's name. It was good that she had enough sense to fear him, for anyone who disobeyed him would die at his hands.

The young swordsman fluidly stood on his feet. His hands traveled lightly down his gi. He noticed the weight on his left hip was lighter than usual. He opted not to openly travel around with his sword as to avoid detection. The red headed warrior might be occupied but his senses was still as sharp as ever.

"Take care, Tusbame," he said politely.

She bowed to him. "I will walk you out."

"Don't worry. I'll see myself out. Besides, I don't want the eyes of certain people following us." His sharp eyes shifted to the fake owner and she instantly went rigid. His smile turned cold as he saw fear flashed in her eyes.

"Please, don't," the young girl said. Her voice brought him out his bloodlust. Apparently, killing people had a side effect.

"Tsubame, you know better than to use your ability on me, right?" She stiffened as she was caught in the act of using her mind to penetrate into his one to stop him from hurting the owner.

The girl warily nodded her head.

"Good, then see you." He walked away from both females in good graces. Only when he was gone, could they breathe easily.

* * *

 **AN: Okay, not every chapter will be derived from the episodes. I will be putting a list of scenes together from the first season but only those I think that are important for this story.**

 **Also, I know that Kaoru grows attached to Kenshin instantly from the episodes, however, I want to work out the romance between them. Due to Kaoru's situation, her mixed up emotions and the way characters will be reacting toward her, the romance between her and Kenshin will take sometime to develop. I guess I want to write it from an realistic point of view. Thus, this story will take some time to get on it's feet but once it does, the suspense will come to life.**

 **What do you think so far? And thank you for reading. :)**


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